PEassignment

In western modern culture it is common for one to be pressured to lose weight. Almost everybody comes across fad diets in their everyday lives. Fad diets are usually weight loss programs which promise fast, dramatic results. These diets deprive the body of essential nutrients and can cause severe, long term damage to one’s health over time. On the other hand, a healthy diet consists of a variety of foods and food groups in appropriate portions. Only unhealthy foods and chemicals are eliminated in healthy diets. These include trans-fat, saturated fat, large amounts of sugar and other unhealthy food components.
Although adolescents may perhaps achieve positive outcomes while dieting, these changes are often temporary. Furthermore, adolescent dieters will be at risk of experiencing adverse physical and psychological effects.
Physical side effects include nutritional deficiencies, particularly of iron and calcium, which pose short- and long-term risks. In adolescents, even a small decline in energy intake will lead to growth deceleration. Lack of carbohydrates can cause the depletion of glucose in the body. Low-carbohydrate diets can cause one to have trouble staying awake during the day, difficulty focusing, constipation or feelings of nausea. Lack of protein in the diet initially causes fatigue, irritability and lethargy. If inadequate intake continues, loss of muscle mass, generalized swelling, decreased immunity, weakened cardiovascular and respiratory system and eventually death can occur.
Psychological side effects consist of people trying to avoid eating in public and overeating later. Once this behaviour becomes a habit, people, especially adolescents develop anorexia or bulimia. Teenagers using fad diets often become depressed and lose self-esteem when their diet fails or when they are unable to control their diet. Moreover, once a child or teen has spent any amount of time following a fad diet, they lose their ability to make healthy food choices. This